Another Great STL Project from Asgard Rising: Horde of the Goblin King

There’s no getting around it. This has been a BIG year for Asgard Rising Miniatures by just about any metric you choose. Funds raised? Their STL campaigns have brought in over $200,000 on Kickstarter since November. Models produced? Not including custom bases, their 2 largest projects combined, Niflheim – Bone and Ruins and Midgard Rising, included over 120 models just at the base pledge level. And now they’ve just announced a 3rd big project, similar in scope to Niflheim and Midgard and their 5th Kickstarter overall, titled Horde of the Goblin King.

Look at any Asgard Rising project and a breathy “Wow” is guaranteed to pass your lips because, quite frankly, their sculpts are some of the best thanks to Asgard Risings’ lead sculptor, Tomasz Kalisz. Even if you’ve never backed an Asgard Rising campaign, there’s still a good chance that you’ve seen his work. Some of his other miniature design credits include work on the Doctor Who, and Titans miniatures games, as well as Champions of Nexum which he also co-designed.

This wide-ranging talent is apparent in the creative goblin designs on display in Horde of the Goblin King. These goblins are a far cry from the fairly standardized green monkeys you see in most fantasy settings. No, with this set, Kalisz was definitely channeling Brian Froud because all of these goblins have a variety of snouts, horns, antlers, growths, and variations in size. And like previous Asgard Rising collections, all of the pre-supported miniatures are modular in design, allowing you to add yet more variation through various poses and weapons. Take into account the fact that the base pledge includes 67 different goblins and you’ve got a truly chaotic goblin horde. Appropriate.

But it’s not just goblins in this set. For starters, goblins love their pets. The base set includes a respectable amount of goblin calvary on both trollhounds (think big squigs) and giant spiders. Then there’s also the recently unlocked Goblin Chieftan on his goodest boy, the nightmare spider. But if even he isn’t big enough for you, you can always spring for the Ancient Spider Queen add-on. Let’s just say that you’ll need more than a rolled-up newspaper for her.

Like all Asgard Rising collections of this size, there is also a big emphasis on terrain. Most of it centers around large, alien mushrooms. However, there is also an impressive tree village useful for both goblin and Ewok dioramas.

Regardless of what you use the terrain for, the best part about it is the price. The campaign is split into 3 tiers: “My Land”, “My Horde”, and “All is Mine”. The “My Land” tier will get you all of the terrain STLs for just €19. The “My Horde” tier is slightly more expensive at €39, but considering the massive amount of miniature files you’ll receive, it’s easily worth the price. Then there’s the real deal. See, with the previous 2 pledges, you only receive the stretch goals that apply to that pledge tier. Pledging at the “My Land” level isn’t going to get you any of the goblin miniatures and vice versa. But with the €59 “All is Mine” pledge, you not only get everything included in the smaller pledges but also every single stretch goal.

At that price, my only assumption is that goblins have been tinkering with Asgard Rising’s Kickstarter page without their knowledge, so best to take advantage of it before they notice. Or if you still aren’t sure, head over to their Kickstarter page and claim the free goblin download they’re giving away. Something tells me it won’t be long before your lone mini is joined by the rest of the horde.

by Zane Messina

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